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Saline board weighs switching policy vendor to Troon; members request cost and crosswalk details
Summary
At its Oct. 14 meeting the Saline Area Schools policy committee presented a plan to move from Neola to Troon Law for policy services; board members requested a policy-by-policy crosswalk, an analysis of transition costs and safeguards during the changeover.
Board President McVay and members discussed a proposed transition from the district’s current policy vendor (Neola) to Troon Law during the Oct. 14 Saline Area Schools meeting, describing the multi-month process and fielding questions about costs, technical transfer and preserving locally drafted policies.
The policy committee recommended beginning with a download of Troon materials, conducting policy-implementation meetings and performing crosswalks to identify where locally customized (“bespoke”) policies — such as the district’s DEI advisory committee policy and transgender/non-binary student policy — must be preserved or carried forward.
McVay said the district would rescind the prior packet and migrate to the Troon structure, and noted Troon acts as a legal adviser on policy and would support the district if legal issues arise. Board members emphasized the need for careful work to avoid losing policy language during the transfer and discussed whether an ad hoc group or the policy committee should carry out the heavy review.
Cost figures presented by the board included one-time fees of about $8,000 for a policy manual and $4,500 for an administrative-guidelines package, an optional $1,500 handbook package, and annual recommended updates estimated under $3,000. Board members asked the superintendent and policy chair to return with a total cost comparison to what the district has paid Neola in recent years and to provide a policy-by-policy crosswalk in spreadsheet form to identify gaps.
Board members also discussed the technical aspects of archiving current policies (so prior versions remain available) and ensuring Troon’s annual update mechanism would meet the district’s needs. No final decision was made; the matter will proceed through additional review, crosswalking and possible ad hoc committee work ahead of a formal vote.
